Luanda — The creation and empowerment of small urban centers in the provinces of the country is considered to be one of the solutions to reduce the rural exodus in the big African cities, especially in capital provinces.
According to the Angolan ambassador to Kenya, Sianga Abílio, who was speaking at the meeting of the group of Portuguese-speaking countries aimed at presenting a technical support project to UN-Habitat, the support of the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) should prioritize the creation of acceptable conditions in small urban centers, in order to avoid overpopulation in African capital cities.
The project presented to the delegations of Angola, Brazil, Portugal and Mozambique foresees the provision of technical support by UN-Habitat to 1,000 cities that will be selected to contribute to the solution of their difficulties, aiming at building resilient urban centres and adequate to the Sustainable Development Goals.
The meeting of the Portuguese-speaking delegations took place on the sidelines of the UN-Habitat Assembly, which is being held from the 5th to the 9th of this month in Nairobi.
According to data advanced by the speakers, currently, around 1.1 billion people in the world live in informal settlements and 1.6 billion in inadequate housing.
The projections for 2050 indicate that another 2.5 billion people will be living in urban centres, which will correspond to 70% of the world's population living in cities. The speakers recalled that currently an estimated 2.3 billion people live in urban centres.
Held under the motto "A sustainable urban future through inclusive and effective multilateralism: achieving the Sustainable Development Goals in times of global crises", the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) Assembly brings together delegates from 193 United Nations (UN) member states, including Angola.
Among several themes selected for the event, the universal access to affordable housing stands out.
Angola is represented at the event with a delegation led by Ambassador Sianga Abílio.
The Assembly is the governing body of UN-Habitat and meets every four years. The Executive Council, of which Angola is a member, is responsible for annually defining plans of action, programs and their budgets, as well as monitoring their implementation. QCB/AC/MRA/jmc
